Family Game Night

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” 

                ~ George Bernard Shaw

Has that humdrum day got you down? Wanna spice up your life? Well, why not bring the Monopoly Man home with you for hours of real-estate mogul inspired adventures? And if the Monopoly Man isn’t your style, there’s Pac-man, the lovable Donkey Kong, competitive Scrabble, lawn bowling and more.

A family game night can have other benefits too. If you include the kids, games can give them valuable practice at problem solving. Many games build specific skills that can be useful to them throughout their life such as math, spelling, and vocabulary. 

Research from Carnegie Mellon shows that even a small amount of practice playing games can lead to better results in the classroom. And who says the kids can’t teach Mom and Dad a thing or two?

There are advantages for adults as well. Playing games can improve your relationships and help foster empathy for others, key skills in just about any profession. Games can even help create an improved state of mind. Developing a playful nature can help you deal with stressful situations and make new friends.

Whatever your guilty or not-so-guilty pleasure, a family game night may be just what you need to break out of the mold and shake things up a bit. You can include the kids or not, but the idea is to have fun, and more importantly, share the fun with others.